We previously had a discussion on social media about the origin of OEM (genuine) oils. The conversation went something like this:
“Kawasaki publicly states that theirs is made by Elf, but I wonder who makes it for the other three manufacturers?”
“It’s impressive confidentiality management—no one I ask seems to know.”
Man, it’s embarrassing how ignorant I was! 💦
I just found out recently, but it turns out that information is actually out there in the public domain.
Actually, the manufacturer was listed on the Safety Data Sheet (SDS)!
When selling chemical products, including oil, publishing a document called a “Safety Data Sheet (SDS)” is mandatory. And in that document, the name of the manufacturing company is actually listed.
Below is the Safety Data Sheet (excerpt from Honda’s official website).
So Honda’s high-end oil, “PRO HONDA RACING,” was actually made by ENEOS!
I have provided links to the Safety Data Sheets for each manufacturer below.
If you are interested, please go ahead and check them out.
If you scroll down, you will see the motorcycle oils.
Click on “SDS” under the Support Information section at the bottom of the page.
If you search with “Oil” as the category, it will come up.
Click on “MSDS Product Safety Data” located in the middle of the page.
motorockmanWhen you look up Kawasaki’s “Vent Vert,” TotalEnergies (formerly Total Lubricants) comes up, but this is actually Elf.
At the end of the day, the oil remains the manufacturer’s own original formula.
have put together a list of the manufacturers for each oil.
Looking at this, you will notice that the high-end models for all the manufacturers are made by ENEOS. But does that mean ENEOS is the absolute best? Not necessarily. Oil manufacturing companies produce these oils based on each manufacturer’s specific recipe, so regardless of who actually blends it, the resulting product is essentially the same.
In other words, at the end of the day, genuine oil remains the manufacturer’s own original formula.
As a side note, it seems that deciding which company manufactures the oil is determined through a bidding system.
Furthermore, they reportedly maintain a system that allows other companies to step in and handle production just in case of emergencies.
